Valiant
by Nagone
Summary: The story of an otaku who was told she could save the world.


**Valiant **

By Nagone

* * *

Summary: Sometimes you can fall too deep into the rabbit hole.

Genre: Fantasy and Adventure

Rated: T+ for sexual situations, fantasy mischief, fighting, cursing, and alcohol.

Trigger Warning: Blood, Character Death

Main Characters: Kagamine Rin and Kamui Gakupo

Author's Note: I've always wanted to write a multi-chapter story with this song as the base. I can't wait to delve in a provide you all with a winding tale about a girl, a peculiar set of glasses, a mysterious Priest-cum-Doctor, and all of her adventures in a strange, new world.

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**Prologue**

* * *

Tokyo smelled distinctly of rain and wet mud that afternoon.

The air was thick and heavy, pressing down on the heavy cotton of Rin's uniform. She yanked at the neck, loosening the ribbon slightly as she turned a sharp corner. She picked up her pace, her tennis shoes slapping against the concrete. She huffed, hands on her knees as she stopped to take a break at a red light. Even breathing felt heavy, she thought as her chest heaved up and down. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and darted across the busy intersection.

Ten minutes later and she was locking her front door, sliding off her tennis shoes and slipping into grass green slippers. She tossed her coatdown on the couch as she darted up stairs eagerly. She practically threw her bedroom door off the hinges as she stepped into her cool bedroom. Her fan blew out sweet, refreshing chilly air, cooling her instantly. Finally, she slowed down and plopped onto a chair.

"Finally!" she shouted, unlatching her bag. She reached in and snatched up a jewel case. Clenched in her right hand was a video game, brand new and still in its cellophane wrapper. The front was decorated in a charmingly stylized manner, filled with blues and purples, reds and oranges, greens and yellows, and had simple text: Valiant. A single shadowed figure drawn in a pleasant cell-shaded style was centered behind the text, a la Suda-51's iconic style, despite being a completely indie game. Rin clutched it to her chest, nuzzling the case. "I'm going to play you all night!" She spun around to face her desk, chair squeaking loudly.

Eagerly, Rin shook the mouse, waking up her computer. A soft hum emptied from the tower as it powered back up. She eagerly slid the disk into the side of the monitor, waiting. Soon, the tell-tale sound of the disk spinning in the drive. Her computer _pinged _and the screen faded to black. Rin's eyes grew wide.

_Please authorize installation._

Rin rolled her eyes and slumped against her chair. She had completely forgotten that she'd have to install the game in her fervor to play it. She had long since been following the production and creation of _Valiant_, from text blogs to videos online to her best friend's fanblog. Ever day for the past five months had been in preparation for this release, and it felt bitter know she'd be withheld from instant immersion into the video game.

Fortunately, the game installed with in fifteen minutes. Rin took that time to change into a planet cotton shirt and a pair of shorts. She had also grabbed a sleeve of rice crackers and the cartoon of milk coffee from the kitchen. Now, she sat, wiping crumbs off of her lap and gulping the sweet coffee from the carton, as the final few moments passed.

**_Ping._**

Rin jerked upright and felt her lips curve into a smile. "Yes!" The screen once more faded to black, but this time, music played. An upbeat J-pop jingle as the company logo, _Vega_, scrolled across the screen and settled in the center. The tune faded the screen grew bright.

The opening cinematics were as lush and detailed as the campaign videos had been. All the concept art and previews were worth it: as the two and thirty second opening ran its course, Rin sat in awe, ready for the actual gameplay. _Geez, if the opening's this good, the game itself must be too._

The opening menu appeared and Rin moved her cursor over to the "New Game" option. She clicked it and giggled, bouncing in her seat. A soft melody played while the game loaded, a bright teal circle swirling in the left hand corner as the game prepared itself. Rin swirled her cursor about the screen impatiently.

And then the music just _stopped_.

"Hello?" Rin perked up.

The voice spoke once more. "Hi there, yes, you."

A figure appeared on the screen, bright purple mist obscuring all but a single eye, his left cheek, and his lips. His gaze shifted about the screen until it locked onto hers. A shiver rushed down her spine. _Wow, good game._

"Do you need any help?"

Rin nodded no. "Not that I know of," she muttered. She shifted her mouse over to the options and clicked "No".

The voice chuckled, lips quivering as its lips tightened up in a smile. "I figured you'd say that." The screen transitioned and his body appeared a bit more, this time revealing arms swathed in dark purple fabric. "Well, I'm going to help you anyway." The screen shifted once more, this time the entire image changed.

It was as if the entire screen was warped. The colors became brash primaries, and the background chunky and distorted. The figure now sat on a series of speakers, a bright yellow construction truck in the background, and what looked to be a dinosaur-styled monster in the foreground. Treasure chests and books lay about, alongside various weapons. It was a crass mixture of modern and fantasy, one that Rin wasn't sure she immediately liked. But as soon as Rin blinked, the world changed once more, this time into a calm, green field. Rin was baffled.

"I'm going to prepare you, Kagamine Rin. My world isn't… like yours. It's different. Warped. On the verge of destruction, actually. But _you _can save it." The figure's gaze was locked with her again.

Rin felt her heart skip a few beats. _Vega_ had pulled out all the stops already. The game was intuitive enough to identify her so early. Most times, Rin had to plug in her name and preferred data before the game actually understood her.

"Hey. Are you even paying attention?"

Rin's nodded eagerly. "I am, I am!"

"Good," the figure said. "I'm Kamui, by the way. Gackupo Kamui, actually. A bit of a silly name, if you ask me."

"I'm-"

"Rin Kagamine, as I said earlier. Now," he stood up and approached the screen. He crouched down, tapping it. Ripples spread across her monitor. Rin couldn't help but gasp in awe. "I need you to help me. It won't be easy, but, it'll be an adventure. Are you up to it?"

Rin nodded eagerly, biting her lip to keep in squeals of joy. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Gakupo laughed. "Then take these." The screen rippled once more and suddenly, a pair of white glasses dropped onto Rin's desk. There were a garish affair, decorated with wings and thick, white frames. The lenses were a cool sky blue, and the rims were studded stylishly with golden fixtures. Still, there were nothing short of tacky. "What, you don't like them? You haven't even tried them on."

Rin cringed at the thought of wearing those… _things_, but she picked them up anyways. _Geez, this instant immersion sure is intense_. Rin slid them onto her face and felt them settle.

And then she blinked.

The computer screen changed, and she saw the distorted world once more. Creatures and miasma and odd characters swirled on her computer screen. Everything outside of it seemed foggy: even her room seemed to be covered in an odd fog. Rin quickly took off the glasses, her heart thudding in her chest.

"They fit alright?"

Rin clenched them in her hands. "Er… no." It was the best excuse she could think of to return them. This wasn't the path she wanted to go down in this game.

"Oh, too bad."

Rin's jaw dropped. "But I don't want them!"

Gakupo was quick to respond. "You gotta treasure them. They were made for you, after all."

Rin pushed them at the screen, but her monitor held true. The display screen was as solid as a rock. The glasses clattered onto the keyboard. Gakupo ignored her. "They're called 'The Glasses of the Legendary Valiant' and they're for you. Rin," Gakupo's voice dropped, "you're the only one who can help my world." Despite being obscured, Rin could imagine the seriousness on Gakupo's face.

"But-"

"Good, so no disagreement. You're coming with me."

Rin yelped as Gakupo's hand reached through the display screen, the glass rippling around it. She grasped the glasses, ready to shove them into his hands, but he caught her wrist and yanked. Rin crashed against the computer, face hitting the wall as her arm disappeared into the screen. "Duck down so I can pull you in!"

"N-No!" Rin yelped, pulling back. Against her bettered judgment, she shoved her other arm in to push him away, but Gakupo held true and kept pulling.

"Perfect," Gakupo said, a smile in his voice. He yanked hard and with a swift tug, Rin crashed through the computer screen.


End file.
